


It's Not Alien If You're the Alien It's Made For

by BlueMorpho (caacrinolaas)



Series: Space Dad Coran [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insomnia, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18873586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caacrinolaas/pseuds/BlueMorpho
Summary: Coran bumps into an unsuspecting Paladin in the dead of night and learns a few things about their most closed-off team member.





	It's Not Alien If You're the Alien It's Made For

Nighttime on the Castle of Lions, for as small of a population the castleship had, tended to buzz with life as much as it did during the day. 

The air was chilled, lights were dimmed, and engines were muted as the clock ticked through the latest hours of the night. No one actively sought out another, believing everyone else to be asleep. 

Allura and Shiro’s dreams were constantly plagued with visions of the Empire’s horrors. Keith was often awoken from dreams he refused to talk about in daylight. Pidge’s sleeping schedule was slowly turning nocturnal, only worsening as her drive to find her family grew exponentially. Hunk’s anxiety prevented him from falling asleep for lengths of time bordering several hours and often found himself tinkering with various projects from machinery to cooking. Lance’s homesickness often drove him up to the observation deck to watch as the castle slowly drifted through the endless expanse stars. 

When Coran had first met the new Paladins, he was immediately taken aback by their horrifically youthful appearance. The Advisor had grown to see Allura as the child he never had, and the fact that these Paladins stepped into the lions with faces younger than the Princess’s made him silently agree with Allura’s doubts of their worthiness. If for a different reason. 

While Allura realized their potential and accepted them as the Lion’s new faithful soldiers, Coran continued to worry. He was fully aware at this point that all of them- excluding Shiro- were children on the frontlines. 

As much as he wished them return to their home planet and live out the freeing simplicity of youth, Coran could not change their destinies. Nor could he change the minds of five towering sentient warships. 

What he could change, however, is the quickly deteriorating sleep schedules of the young Paladins. It was a task that rivaled in difficulty with overthrowing a massive totalitarian empire, but Coran was slowly but surely making progress in his goal. 

At least with three of them. 

While the Advisor can more easily lead troubles away from an awake mind in favor of getting to bed, there was nothing he could do about nightmares. An ill subconscious has no stretches or pills or diet that can cure it… for humans, that is. 

His musings were interrupted as he quickly turned the corner and ran into someone sturdy, the two of them stumbling back from the force. 

Much to his surprise, it wasn't Shiro, who was usually the Paladin he ended up bumping into in the dead of night. Instead, it was Number Four, who looked uncharacteristically skittish as he hastily apologized and moved to slip past the Advisor. 

Now, Coran would have usually let him slip by and went on with his day, but this wasn't the usual as it wasn't day. The Red Paladin should have been asleep four vargas ago, according the nearby clock. 

"Now, now!" The Advisor grasped the boy's shoulder firmly before he could escape. "May I ask what you're doing up so late in this part of the castle? I believe you all are already aware that your rooms have personal bathrooms." 

"Uh..." The younger was clearly uncomfortable with the grip and shook himself out the Altean's grasp, but didn't attempt to leave again. "I walk at night a lot. I usually bump into Shiro." 

"Well, that makes two of us, doesn't it?" Coran said lightheartedly. "If you don't mind, may I ask why these nighttime walks are common for you?" 

"Nightmares. It's not a big deal, though." 

Coran's eyes went wide at the new information. "Of course that's a big deal! Being plagued with visions of the battlefield at night is most worrisome, I do remember back when-" 

"It's not. I mean, it's not battlefield stuff. It's something else." Keith shifted uncomfortably and crossed his arms tightly, though it looked more as if he was hugging himself than closing off Coran. "It happened a long time ago, I should be over it. That's why I didn't say anything. I don't really want to talk about it." 

Coran quirked up an eyebrow, but didn’t press any further. He had already gotten this much from the boy and didn't want to risk him scampering off. 

An idea occurred to Coran as the silence stretched. Choosing his next words carefully, he slowly continued, "I won't press you, but I do want you to know that I'm willing to listen to anything that's plaguing your mind. But for now, I believe I know of something that can ease your mind enough so you can go back to bed without fear of nightmares." 

Coran lead the boy to the kitchen thankfully without any protest. Once they arrived, Keith jumped up onto one of the counters and waited as the Altean ran about the room. As he finished, the Advisor went back over to the boy and handed over the cup. 

Keith tentatively took the cup from Coran, looking at the steaming orange-red drink with poorly concealed suspicion. The Advisor was already well aware that everyone of the Castle’s residents didn't approve of his cooking, though he still took it upon himself to take offense. Only an Altean military academy could bring such level of nutrition to their meals! It was their loss. 

However, this wasn't any ordinary drink, and Coran was very curious to see how how the Red Paladin would react to the taste. But he didn't need to know that, of course. 

"Well, what do you think?" The Advisor pressed. 

"It's good." 

“Wonderful!” Coran snapped upright. “I originally suspected that you would find it foul, much like your peers, but I appear to be proven wrong. The fact that you enjoy the taste stems directly from your heritage!” 

"...what?" 

"What you have in your hands there is a traditional Galran medicinal tea. I highly doubt it's used in the Empire anymore, but I happen to have plenty left over." Coran stroked his mustache. "It's used to sooth the more harrowing symptoms of warrior's shock. I once gave it to Shiro, but he found the taste to be near inedible. I must admit I don't find it to be pleasant either." 

"Oh." The boy looked back down at the steaming cup, fiddling with the tea strainer sticking out of the cup. "Thanks." 

As Keith began to sip at the tea again, Coran began an anecdote on the time Alfor once had once tried the same drink now in the boy's hands, making exaggerated expressions as he recounted the tale. While the rather stoic Paladin never reacts as openly to his humorous stories as the others often do, the Advisor saw that his face was much more relaxed than when he first bumped into him. 

The Altean watched as the boy's eyes began to droop, nodding less and less in response to Coran's stories. Wrapping up the story, he helped Keith jump down from the high counter and began to lead him back to the Paladin's designated room. Coran had no doubt that the younger fell right asleep the instant he hit the pillow. 

Once the door closed, however, the smile plastered on his face slipped as he continued his nightly sweep of the castle. Coran had already begun to suspect that Earth wasn't the peace loving utopia the other Paladins made it out to be, but tonight's events only cemented that suspicion. 

'A long time ago' to someone as old as Keith was hardly anything to Coran. The thought of any harm befalling a child to the point that it haunted them years later made his stomach turn, especially a child that was unwillingly thrown into a war. 

Perhaps he'll track down Shiro within the next few quintants. Coran has more than a few questions about the nature of Keith's upbringing.


End file.
